“But the Israelites would not listen. They were as stubborn as their ancestors who had refused to believe in the LORD their God. They rejected his decrees and the covenant he had made with their ancestors, and they despised all his warnings. They worshiped worthless idols, so they became worthless themselves.”
2 Kings 17:14-15 NLT
God planned for us to walk in relationship with Him, but the actions described in this chapter prove the Israelites did not have the same priority. So, after centuries of trying to bring them back to relationship, God finally allowed them to be exiled from His Promised Land. Why? Because they worshipped other gods. (17:7)
In the same way that unfaithfulness in a marriage brings untold heartache to the other spouse, so Israel’s worship of idols brought untold heartache to God. He had planned amazing benefits for them through relationship, and yet they rejected His covenant, despised His warnings of disaster, and stubbornly chose worthless idols instead.
Worthless—useless, deficient, insignificant, valueless. Those empty words vividly describe the sad state of God’s people, all because they chose to abandon the God who had delivered them from bondage, provided their every need, and lovingly cared for them these hundreds of years. They abandoned HIM for worthless idols, and therefore became worthless themselves.
GOD created us with a longing in our souls to be valued, to have worth. He knew that relationship with HIM would fulfill that basic human need. No wonder He calls us to Himself—He knows the idols of this world are worthless, so how could they ever give worth to anyone?
Be careful what you worship—You can either gain worth or become worth-less!
